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/1/
On the Torn Land of Palestine
A Poem by Leni Marlina
In the dust-covered olive groves, I stand
Beneath a sky shrouded in shadow,
Where even the moon hides from the wail of guns,
And the night winds carry only the scent of wounds.
This soil, where the steps of my children were once imprinted,
Is now shadowed by tanks and silent walls,
Once green earth, now gasping under the weight of cruelty,
Like olive branches, snapped by ruthless hands.
My eyes hold the faces stolen away,
Like a river fed by endless tears,
In valleys and hills once bright and alive,
Now etched with the cold bitterness of ruin.
I learn from these stones beneath my feet, resolute,
Even as they're trampled by wheels of destruction,
For I am more than a mother engulfed in sorrow;
I am a spirit rooted deeply in Palestine's soil.
When explosions tear the heavens apart,
And houses fall like leaves cut by force,
I keep moving, a small flame lit within my steadfast heart,
And whisper to this land, "We will not perish; we will endure."
Padang, Sumbar, 2023
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/2/
Palestine, I Am the Earth That Will Never Disappear
A Poem by Leni Marlina
On blood-soaked ground, I stand firm,
On ashes of homes built with tears,
Where dusk no longer brings peace,
And the sky cracks with the lightning of despair.
My wife, her gentle voice now swallowed in cries,
My children, a light dimmed by war's embrace,
They are not lost---they live in every blast,
And I? I am the storm that will never cease,
My bones unbroken, though bullets rain down.
My steps echo the earth's anguished roar,
I am not a man adrift in grief---
I am the ember burning in every drop of blood,
Piercing darkness, setting the skies aflame with resolve.
These eyes no longer merely see; they cut,
Staring at a world blind to our suffering,
Glaring sharp, seething with fire,
For I am this land, untouchable by any force.
The bullets that pierce my flesh are but wind,
I grow anew from every scattered piece,
Not to gather them but to reach higher,
Palestine, this land is me---and I am your lifeblood, immortal.
When bombs tear the heavens apart, I will not hide,
I am the wave that drowns the invader's ships,
In every explosion, I find new resolve,
Whispering to this ravaged earth, "I will not retreat; we will reclaim what is lost."
Padang, Sumbar, 2023
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/3/
We Are Shadows That Will Not Be Forgotten
A Poem by Leni Marlina
We are the children who do not know laughter,
Amid the ruins of once-warm homes,
We gaze at the sky---now filled only with holes,
A black void devouring every trace of light.
Our mothers and fathers are gone, erased by flames,
By sounds louder than our cries,
Our siblings vanished like mist,
Lost in smoke that never fades away.
Our friends are now just scattered names,
Floating with dust carried by the wind,
We are fragments that cannot be restored,
Running with no sense of where to go.
We have no home, only earth that weeps,
No father, just a silhouette that fades,
No sibling, only shards of memory,
Whispered among remnants untouched by time.
For us, the sky holds no blue,
Only ash clouds our view,
We are no longer children at play---
We are children forgotten by a world that never stops spinning.
But though we have nothing,
We hold something indestructible---our memories,
We are Palestine that cannot be erased,
Because memories are not things that can be destroyed.
We are imprints that cannot be erased,
We are echoes that linger on,
We are countless children unaccounted for,
And though the world may close its ears, we will scream,
For we know we are part of a land that will never die.
Padang, Sumbar, 2023
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Brief Biography
These poems were first composed privately by Leni Marlina in 2023 as part of her personal collection and later revised and published online in 2024. Leni Marlina is an active member of the Indonesian Writers Association, SATU PENA, West Sumatra chapter. She is also a part of the International Community of Poets & Literary Writers (ACC) in Shanghai and serves as a Poetry Ambassador for ACC Shanghai Huifeng International Literary Association. Additionally, Leni is involved with Victoria's Writers Association in Australia. Since 2006, she has been a lecturer in the English Language and Literature Program at the Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang.
Leni has founded and leads various digital communities focused on literature, education, and social engagement, including:
1. World Children's Literature Community (WCLC): https://rb.gy/5c1b02
2. International POETRY-PEN Community
3. PPIPM (Inspiration Poetry Society): https://tinyurl.com/zxpadkr
4. Starcom Indonesia (Starmoonsun Edupreneur Community): https://rb.gy/5c1b02
